


Healing Balm

by Galadriel



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Community: sons_of_gondor, F/M, Kissing, M/M, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 08:48:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8439154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel/pseuds/Galadriel
Summary: For Faramir, the woods of Lothlorien offer him more than memories of his brother, more than a way to recover from the sorrow and pain that plagued him.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dunderklumpen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunderklumpen/gifts).



> For Dunderklumpen. Happy Halloween! I hope you enjoy this little fic, and I hope I've integrated your requests in a way you'll enjoy!

The healers had been skeptical at first, not believing Faramir when he insisted that his recovery would be sped along if he could but follow his brother's footsteps on that fateful final quest. Yet he was the last of the House of Stewards, the last to keep the City safe for what little time remained before Elessar ascended the throne, and their 'no's softened as his authority rose.

He had made the trip several times now, the first two diligently tracing his brother's twisting, twining path from their City all the way to the banks of the Anduin, breaking off there to return home, unwilling to walk beside the winding river, seeing in his mind's eye the way the current pushed and tugged the boat holding Boromir's body down towards the sea. Each time, he refined his pathway a little more, favouring particular spots over the whole route of the Fellowship, eschewing points of injury and unhappiness for what bright moments of rest and recuperation had been afforded to them. Each time, he convinced the City's healers and his advisors to let him shrink his retinue a little more.

There was only so much solitary reflecting one could do with a full guard. ...And only so much silent contemplation one could do over the clanking of plate mail.

So here he was now, just himself and a single trusted Ranger, walking their horses beneath the cool, dark shadows of the mallorn trees, keenly aware of the hidden eyes tracing their every step, sharp arrowheads set to taut bowstrings following their every move. 

Beauty and danger, twined together.

An old saying bobbed up out of the flotsam and jetsam of Faramir's thoughts, a cork in water: "Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes." He chuckled softly. _And turn you into a pincushion in the process_. But he was here for remembrances, not recommendations, and imagined that might keep him hole-free. 

He wondered if Boromir had led him here, one last gift before he truly left for Mandos' Halls. It could not be simply memory that kept him returning to the places that last beheld his brother's presence. 

Their footfalls were nearly silent on the spongy surface of grass and leaves, the ground damp with dew. Faramir let his mind wander, imagining once again his brother under the trees, looking up at the winding trunks, feeling the golden leaves brushing against his cheeks as they fell gently to the ground. Caught up in the image, he didn't hear the gentle thud of boots meeting dirt, didn't see the Elf approaching until his long fingers stroked slowly down the nose of his steed.

"Well met, my Lord Faramir." 

Shaking off his musings, Faramir looked up and smiled. "Well met, Marchwarden." He let his gaze trail over Haldir's form, noting the straightness of his back, the ease of movement throughout his body. "It seem you have completely recovered from your ordeal at Helm's Deep."

Haldir inclined his head, a mischievous flicker lighting up his eyes. "Almost recovered, my lord. _Almost_." He nodded as two more Elves came into view, melting out of the shadows as if they were shades themselves. A few soft words, and they were leading away Faramir's companion and both horses. 

The Ranger glanced back apprehensively at Faramir, but Faramir smiled. "Enjoy their hospitality, Damrod. I assure you, we are both safe beneath these boughs."

As Damrod was led away, Faramir turned his attention back to Haldir. The Elf smiled and leaned into Faramir, his voice lowering, all formality slipping away. "It is a joy to see you, melamin. I had hoped to walk through these woods with you again." One strong, lithe arm slid around Faramir's waist, tugging him close even as it gently guided him on. He could feel the heat radiating from Haldir's body, warming him in ways both familiar and strange.

Faramir allowed himself to be led. They fell quickly into their customary habits, developed over the shallow handful of visits to Lorien Faramir had made over the past months. A walk beneath the trees, nearly silent, exchanging no sentiments. A meal of fruit and bread, shared on the flat of a tall platform, the ascent leaving Faramir breathless, the height dizzying, the view spectacular. A mutual unlacing of outer armour, leaving them both comfortably clothed and trustingly vulnerable. Only after he had caught his breath and filled his belly would they begin to talk, soft voices carrying back and forth on cool breezes.

"And you are well, melamin?" Haldir reached out, his fingertips brushing over the curve of Faramir's cheek. "The colour has begun to return to your face, and there is a glint in your eye that I have not seen before." Haldir leaned in, the smile on his lips arcing up into a gently teasing curve. "Not even when you are lost in the throes of passion." His breath was warm against the shell of Faramir's ear, his words sending a shudder of desire down Faramir's spine. 

"I am." Faramir groaned, shifting closer to Haldir, his fingertips twitching at the thought of untangling each lace and fastening, pushing them aside to feel the warm skin beneath. Yet he clenched his fingers, curling them into loose fists, arresting the impulse even as Haldir's tonguetip flicked across a spot just below his jawline. "But I-- I have something I must tell you, love." Faramir reached for Haldir's hands, stopping their exploratory path across his chest, down his abdomen. Gently, he sat back, hoping his eyes reflected the weight of his words.

Haldir chuckled, experimentally twisting his wrists in Faramir's grip as if testing his hold. He tipped his head to the side, a wide grin betraying his pleasure in their reunion. "Oh? And what might that be?" His tone was light, almost lilting, but as he examined Faramir's face, his smile faded and his brow furrowed.

Faramir nodded, momentarily made speechless by a sudden lump in his throat. As much as he wished to hold Haldir's gaze as he spoke the truth that pressed against his teeth, he could not. Instead, he looked down at Haldir's hands, marvelling at the small, light scar beneath Haldir's right thumb, and the carefully-cultivated calluses that betrayed his skill with a bow. Faramir exhaled, slow and soft, and the words tumbled out, low and quiet, carried by his breath. "I am to be wed."

He could feel the stiffening of Haldir's body even as his tone remained light as air. "Indeed? I hope he is handsome and strong and a master at reading the needs of your mind and body." The chuckle that followed would have seemed natural if it were not for the slightly strained tone that slid into place underneath. "It is passing strange, though, for I do not recall asking for your hand."

Faramir looked up at that. Haldir was watching him, his expression mild and kind. It took another slow, deep breath, but after a pause, Faramir managed, "She is a woman of Rohan." His breath caught as Haldir pulled his hands free, his heart stopped in his chest. "She is brave and beautiful and strong and..." His tongue faltered.

Haldir nodded. "Of course she is. No one else would be worthy of you." Faramir closed his eyes as Haldir cupped his cheek. "And in faith, we both knew that what we have would be forever confined to these woods. I cannot leave, and you cannot stay. Not so long as we both serve our people." Haldir's hands closed around one of Faramir's, a reassuring weight even as Haldir's kind words burned through Faramir like brushfire. "And you know too well I would never ask you to abandon your post."

"Nor I yours." Faramir whispered.

"So is this to be our final coupling?" Haldir raised Faramir's hand to his lips, kissing each fingertip in turn. "Or am I robbed of even that? You have come to say goodbye, but nothing more?"

"No." The lump in his throat came unstuck with the force of Faramir's exclamation. "No. No, no, no, that is not why I have come at all." Leaning forward, Faramir slipped his hand free, cupping Haldir's face. "No. Never." 

"Then _what_ –"

Haldir's lips were dry and soft as Faramir kissed him with more than a month's worth of pent up desire and longing. He groaned as Haldir's mouth opened to him, shuddered as, after a pause, Haldir's arms wound around his back, pulling him close. Haldir tasted of fruit and wine, a heady mix that left Faramir feeling both drunk and parched, as if he could never quite drink his fill. The right words had fled, and desire pushed him further, and all he could hope for is that his meaning would come with his actions. He pushed Haldir flat, shifting to straddle his legs, kissing him with abandon even as Faramir tug impatiently at the lacings of Haldir's shirt. 

Reluctantly, once the lacings were untangled, Faramir broke the kiss, slipping Haldir's tunic over his head. Haldir's lips were full and ripe, bruised by Faramir's passion, and Faramir could not help but lean down and lick at them, pleased at the soft moan he drew from Haldir. 

Breeches, Faramir decided, must follow tunics, and it was the work of a moment before he had Haldir stripped down and naked before him. He smiled as Haldir laughed, nodding at Faramir's still-clothed form.

"It is not sporting to remain armoured against a defenceless opponent." Faramir whimpered as he felt Haldir's fingers tugging at his breeches. "It would only be honourable if you were equally as unclothed." 

He did not need to be told twice.

The air was cool against his skin, a welcome respite to the deep flush that came with the sweep of lust that held Faramir in its grip. This was all he wanted in this moment, to have Haldir laid out beneath him, a banquet of heat and hunger. He could not speak except to moan, except to murmur his consent to all Haldir asked of him and more. 

Their limbs tangled together, a knot of love and lust, tied one to the other as if they could never be parted. Time lengthened and dissolved, and in these moments, Faramir could not remember a time where he was not in Haldir's arms, had not held him in his heart. Truly, it was all he could do to taste each inch of Haldir's body, licking and kissing across his skin, glorying in the musk and salt that painted his lips. It was with some reluctance that he allowed Haldir to derail his exploration, turning Faramir onto his front and spreading him out like the next course in their banquet, parting his legs and buttocks, delving between Faramir's curves to stroke and tease.

Indeed, Haldir knew all of Faramir's rhythms, knew exactly what desires Faramir held secret in his breast. And, oh, Haldir's tongue was a wicked thing, circling and darting between Faramir's cheeks, opening him up to the pleasures of more than a millennia. His moans turned to shouts as Haldir pressed deeper, tonguetip flickering and teasing as Faramir's prick twitched and pulsed, his release only a heartbeat away. Briefly, he considered curling his fingers around it, certain he would spill after only a stroke or two, but instead he pushed that impulse away, knowing Haldir preferred to bring him to completion without any interference at all.

How long Haldir kept him hovering there, balanced on a blade's edge, pulling back every time he sensed Faramir was a hair's breadth from coming, Faramir could not say. All he was certain of is that his voice had gone rough and raw from crying out, his throat full of the only word he could say, over and over again: " _Haldir_." He could barely hold on as Haldir drew back, shifting until he covered Faramir's back with his body, thrusting inside him in one firm, sleek thrust. 

Faramir clenched tightly around Haldir, glorying in the gasp that he drew from Haldir's throat, luxuriating in the stretch and feel of Haldir's prick inside him, sliding forward and back even as Haldir murmured in his ear. 

"You never fail to surprise me, my lord. So _tight_. So _willing_. So _sensitive_. I will be sorry when this is over." Haldir rolled his hips, shuddering as Faramir gripped him once again. "If I was the least bit dishonourable, I would keep you like this, stretched and ready, naked and eager, always at my beck and call." 

Faramir groaned, images tumbling through his mind: bound at Haldir's feet, decorated in naught but delicate silver and gold chain, head in Haldir's lap, sucking greedily at his prick. He had a glancing familiarity to the depths of Elvish lovemaking thanks to Haldir, and the promise of new tricks and toys had him shuddering. 

It was at that moment that Haldir shifted his angle of entry, rubbing against Faramir in such a way that he saw nothing but a shower of sparks before his eyes. Distantly, he heard a voice shouting, and as his body buckled, his prick spilling, he knew it was his. 

For a long time, all Faramir was aware of was the beating of his heart. He moaned in disappointment as Haldir moved, slipping out of him, but once he felt himself wrapped in a blanket, pulled close to Haldir's chest, his body relaxed as contentment swept over him. He could feel fingers stroking through his hair, twining and twisting his locks, and he closed his eyes, happy to simply let everything wash over him.

Haldir kissed beneath his ear, against his jaw, beside the pulsebeat in his neck. "Stay but a little while longer," he whispered. "I do not wish to lose you just yet."

Through the haze that fogged his brain, the thick mantle of satisfaction that dampened most of Faramir's complex thoughts, the purpose of visit began to solidify. Carried away by feeling, Faramir had not yet spoken the breadth of his truth; for there was as of yet more to tell Haldir. 

It took a momentous effort, but Faramir managed to roll his exhausted body onto its side until he was facing Haldir. He curled tightly into Haldir, smiled up at him, and was momentarily distracted by the sensual way in which Haldir licked his lips. A slow brush of tonguetip across his lower lip, then across the bow above, and Faramir felt the faintest of twitches from his prick, already hardening at the thought of having Haldir again so soon. He groaned, the sound rumbling up from his chest.

Haldir smiled down at him, stroking Faramir's hair away from his face. 

"You will not lose me. Not unless you wish to let me go."

Haldir's brow furrowed, and Faramir wanted nothing more but to reach up and stroke it smooth. But the blanket was making an effective shackle, and his arm refused to comply. He tried again.

"I have told her all. Every secret, every shame, every desire." Faramir cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing at the memory of it, candlelight and whispers as he and Eowyn pledged themselves one to the other. "She knows of you, and she does not wish to stand between us. For even as I love her and she I, she knows I love you as well. And in truth, her own heart has room for two loves as well. Just as I hold you _and_ she close, so too does she hold another."

For a creature who had lived as long a life as Haldir, Faramir found it remarkable how long it took for Haldir to comprehend his words. But when he did, his expression was like the breaking of dawn at the end of a long night. "Truly?" The word was cautious, careful, as if Haldir was examining the scenario from every possible vantage point.

Faramir nodded. "Truly. Her only wish is that we both experience happiness after so much sorrow. That we are as open with our hearts as we can be." He smiled shyly, although there was no confidence in his eyes. "My only fear is that you will not be content to share."

Haldir blinked. "Well," he said, and paused. "Well." 

Faramir's muscles tightened. He was poised on that knife's edge once again, but this time, a tumble forward would mean a cut so deep he might not recover.

"Well."

Haldir seemed quite fond of the word.

"I will need some time to think on it, but..." He worried his lip, white teeth bruising his lower lip as Faramir wished to do. "I have always wondered why our Lady did not take both Celeborn _and_ Celebrimbor to her bed."

The fog in Faramir's head seemed not to have lightened at all. He struggled to make sense of what he could remember of Elven genealogy, wondering why Haldir would bring up such matters at this time. "What?"

Catching sight of Faramir's expression, Haldir laughed. The sound was a paean to Faramir's soul. "I can see the elegance of it. I do believe that this may be an acceptable state to all concerned."

Faramir groaned in relief, his body unknotting. "You do? Oh, thank Eru." He kissed Haldir deeply, relief twining with the desire to mark and possess. 

Some time later, after another round of exploration and excitation, Faramir found himself splayed across Haldir's chest, listening to the rise and fall of his chest, cataloguing each breath. Haldir's fingers were back in his hair, soothing strokes alternating with the occasional teasing tug, keeping Faramir just on this side of wakefulness. 

"You said she was brave?" Haldir asked, his voice full of mirth and curiosity.

Faramir nodded. "Beyond brave. I have never seen another forged of such steely courage." 

Although he could not see it, and did not wish to raise his head to check, he could hear the smile in Haldir's voice. "A brave woman might be welcome in our bed. Do you not think so?"

"Truly?" Surprised, Fararmir's fingers stopped tracing the curve of Haldir's muscles. "You wish me to bring her here? To be with... with _us_?"

"Indeed. If you and she wish it, of course." Haldir's hand slid down Faramir's neck, cupping the nape as he rubbed his thumb just under Faramir's hairline. "I would like to take my own measure of the woman who shares your heart." He nudged Faramir, encouraging his head up. That self-same mischievous look was back in his eyes. "I would enjoy seeing how far her courage extends. How well her desires match your own."

Faramir could not stop the full-body shudder that ran through him at that thought. His two loves brought together, enjoying each other as he enjoyed each of them. Indeed, this was a gift, one of many he had been given by those in his life, past and present, each step through darkness a step towards the light. This was more than lust or pleasure. This was something precious, and as he leaned in once again to avail himself of the taste of Haldir on his lips, he knew he would not fail to be grateful for it. He would not fail to treat every moment of it like the generous gift it was.


End file.
